Sway vs. PowerPoint: What's the Difference?

Posted by
on
September 12, 2017

What is the
difference between Sway and PowerPoint? Sway is a newer and hipper app
(compared to PowerPoint) that is designed for online and on-demand
presentation. It gives users pre-designed backgrounds, transitions, and images.
PowerPoint is the classic Microsoft application that is great for
live on or in-person presentations.

This is not to say
that Sway is going to replace PowerPoint. They are actually complimentary to
one another.

When To Use Sway

Sway is good for
presentations that rely more on images and style. Sway is especially good if
you're not that creative. It provides a ton of pre-designed backgrounds and
images. Since Sway is an online application, you can easily drag images,
charts, or other content from online. The downside to using Sway is that you
can't create in-app charts or graphs. So if you plan to make a presentation
with all charts and numbers, it's best to steer clear of Sway. Since it's an
online application, however, you can easily just send somebody the link to your
presentation.

When To Use
PowerPoint

There are two
versions of PowerPoint. One is PowerPoint Online and the other is the
PowerPoint Desktop App. Both types of PowerPoint give you more freedom in
choosing the design of your presentation. You have the option to choose from
pre-designed backgrounds, but you can also edit and change around colors or
images. There is also something called PowerPoint Designer, which actually
helps you format your picture to fit an appropriate background. In PowerPoint,
you can also easily create in-app charts and graphs. The PowerPoint Desktop App
is available for offline usage, so this would be great if you're on your
computer without access to the internet. And while you can’t send a web link to
your PowerPoint Desktop App-version for others to view like you can in
PowerPoint Online, you can always send it either as an attachment to your peers
via email OR if it’s saved to your OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Team
Site, then you can send that link to others!

Neither Sway nor
PowerPoint is superior to the other. They both have their strengths and
weaknesses. Whatever the presentation is, you now have two options to choose
from. If you're interested in getting an in-depth look at how to use Sway,
email info@solartechnj.com for Solartech training videos.